


pay attention

by pipecleanerFlowers



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-12
Updated: 2015-01-12
Packaged: 2018-03-07 05:53:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3163700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pipecleanerFlowers/pseuds/pipecleanerFlowers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Reiji gets his ears pierced, he's twelve years old.</p>
            </blockquote>





	pay attention

**Author's Note:**

> for a prompt at the Arc V fillathon :3

When Reiji gets his ears pierced, he's twelve years old. The artist at the tattoo parlour looks him up and down and laughs at him, in his sweatervest and slacks and loafers, looking every bit the private school kid that he is.

"Where's your mother, kid?"

"Busy."

"You need an adult with you for this."

"I'm already an adult," Reiji says, and he's honestly convinced that he is. "And I want my ears pierced.”

“Come back with a guardian and maybe I’ll reconsider it, kid.”

Three days later, Nakajima is with Reiji on a little field trip. When they walk into the dark tattoo parlour, straight into the studio where the artist is adjusting the photos on the walls, Nakajima clears his throat.

“What are we doing here?” he asks, and Reiji takes amusement in how he’s visibly uncomfortable by the implications he could be making by entering such an establishment.

“I’ve brought a guardian, can you do it now?” Reiji asks, ignoring him.

The artist turns and looks at them, up and down the way he did before, and nods. “Fine. Pick a starter and I’ll price it from there.”

It takes Reiji forever, partially because Nakajima keeps pointing at simpler, less obvious styles that his mother might not notice. He keeps on doing this until Reiji points out a black pair that’ll stand out against his pale skin, that everyone will notice straight away.

“I can’t believe you asked me to do this,” Nakajima says as Reiji sits down in the chair and the artist starts disinfecting his ears. Reiji laughs quietly at how nervous he sounds for such a big guy.

“Who else would I ask?”

Nakajima doesn’t really have an answer.

When Reiji gets home, Nakajima opens the door for him and he walks in, straight to the dining room where the chandelier glitters over his mother, whose hair is pulled back with too much hairspray. She’s looking over merger papers, completely engrossed in them, until Reiji speaks up:

“I’m home.”

She looks up, giving him a cursory glance and a “Welcome back,” before immersing herself back into her papers.

A moment passes and Reiji sits down, right next to her spot at the head of the table. “I got my ears pierced,” he says, loudly enough to echo through the dining room.

“That’s great, dear. Have you finished your homework?”

Reiji’s brow furrows. “No.”

“Why not? You’ll never be able to take over LDS like this, Reiji,” she says, hand going to her temple as she looks up at him with irritation and an oncoming headache. “You know your father won’t--” Her eyes widen and she drops the pen she’s holding. “What the hell is _that_.”

“I got my ears pierced,” Reiji repeats.

The fight that breaks out that night makes the mansion the loudest it’s ever been. Reiji watches Nakajima shake his head at him from the doorway as Reiji sits at the table, listening to his parents blame each other for this mess.

 

 


End file.
